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China Readings for March 7th

"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner

Attorney General Holder defends execution without charges – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com – why would China listen to any American criticism of its human rights record?//
the “process” which Eric Holder yesterday argued constitutes “due process” as required by the Fifth Amendment before the government can deprive of someone of their life: the President and his underlings are your accuser, your judge, your jury and your executioner all wrapped up in one, acting in total secrecy and without your even knowing that he’s accused you and sentenced you to death, and you have no opportunity even to know about, let alone confront and address, his accusations; is that not enough due process for you? At Esquire, Charles Pierce, writing about Holder’s speech, described this best: “a monumental pile of crap that should embarrass every Democrat who ever said an unkind word about John Yoo.”

Facebook Says China Is Largest Source of App Developer Partners in Asia – Bloomberg – Facebook Inc. (FB), whose website has been restricted in China since 2009, said it has more application development partners in the country than any other part of Asia.
Developers of software from China make up about 20 percent of Facebook’s partner network in Asia, David Lim, a partner engineer at the company’s mobile developer relations division, said in an interview in Hong Kong today. Chinese app developers are using Facebook (FB) to reach overseas users, Lim said, without providing figures.

The unidentified American was found collecting geographic data with two handheld GPS receivers without authorization near a military base in Manas County last August, China News Service reported yesterday.

People go ape over panicking monkey – A rhesus monkey was chased into a public park by Beijingers who are not used to interacting with wildlife. It ended up being captured and taken away by an unidentified man, the Beijing Evening News reported yesterday.

The animal was spotted in a tree outside Dongdan Park Monday afternoon. A group of onlookers surrounded the tree and suggested they catch it and eat its brain. Monkey brain is considered a delicacy in many parts of China.

Clarification of China’s Claim? | China Power – In a recent press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs appeared to take an important step towards clarifying China’s claims in the South China Sea – and suggesting what the line might not mean.

First, the spokesperson, Hong Lei, distinguished between disputes over “territorial sovereignty of the islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands” and disputes over maritime demarcation. This affirms past statements, including a note to the United Nations in May 2011, that China will advance maritime claims that are consistent and compliant with UNCLOS. Under UNCLOS, states may only claim maritime rights such as an EEZ from land features like a nation’s coastline or its islands.

Second, and more importantly, the spokesperson further stated that “No country including China has claimed sovereignty over the entire South China Sea.” By making such a statement, this phrase suggests that the “nine-dashed line” doesn’t represent a claim to maritime rights (such as historic rights), much less a claim to sovereignty over the water space enclose by the line. More likely, the line indicates a claim to the islands, reefs and other features that lie inside.